Evening Grosbeak Female

Day 214: Few things in life are certain: death, taxes and Murphy's Law. The latter was in full effect on Saturday when I should have been able to rack up several more species for Global Big Day but for the sudden disappearance of a few of my more common birds. And true to form, over the following two days, several of them showed up: the Red-winged Blackbirds (normally a constant nuisance), Canada Geese and a Red-breasted Sapsucker. On the other hand, only the atomic clock is more reliable than Evening Grosbeaks who have discovered an unlimited supply of black-oil sunflower seed, and they were arguably my most abundant bird in the count, even topping Steller's Jays. I never get tired of photographing them, and this was my best capture of a female. They'll be around all summer, sometimes in smaller numbers, sometimes greater, filling the air with their chirps.